Wes Welker Conference Call Transcript

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 12:33 PM EDT

Do you feel more confident this year, a year removed from knee surgery?"Absolutely. I think being a year removed and being there with the trainer this whole off-season and being on top of everything this year, I understand I feel great and have a lot of confidence in myself to go out there and play well."

What are your thoughts on Cowboys secondary and Scandrick's return?"Obviously, he is a good player and I think the whole defensive backfield is going to be healthy now and all intact. We definitely are going to have our hands full with those guys and make sure we study up and stay on top of them and make sure we do everything necessary to try and win out there on the field."

In your last year of your contract - how much do you want to stay in New England and how much do you think about that during the season?"Well, of course I want to stay here but as of right now I don't really think about it. I just try to focus on this year and everything I can do to help the team this year."

What do you remember about Jason Garrett in Miami?"I always loved Jason Garrett. A great coach. I believe my rookie year was his last year playing and then he became my coach. He is a heck of a guy, a great coach and I can't say enough good things about him."

Did Garrett help you at all?"His last year in Miami he was the scout team quarterback, I was the scout team receiver and then becoming a coach he always instilled a lot of confidence in us. I remember one time I sat there and told him, 'Jason, I think I can get them on this or that route or whatever and he said 'Wes, you know what, you can get them on any route.' It's just great to hear that confidence from a coach and that edge. In my mind I thought, "You're right."

Does the extent of your success surprise even you?"I don't think so. I prepare myself and train myself to go out there and be successful on the field and I don't really pay attention to anything else and what I should be doing or whatever. I go out there and do my job each and every play."

When you look at the numbers you've put up, are you amazed?"I don't think you can really look at them and not think this is a little bit crazy. But at the same time I try not to really think about it. Just try to get open and catch the ball and play for my team."

What's it like getting ready for a team you see once every four years?"There is a lot more work that goes into it. You don't know them as well. There is a lot more as far as us preparing and making sure that we're ready for them and knowing who we're going against."

Why are the Patriots so good at home?"Playing at home always has its advantages. I think the fans play a big part and knowing our surroundings and us just going out there and playing well. I feel our fans do a great job of making it a hostile place to play."

On the Patriots being the model franchise:"I am always proud to be a Patriot in everything we're trying to accomplish here. I think we have a great owner and great coaches and they have put together a great model for us to go out there and succeed. Any time you're a part of that, it's a pretty special thing."

On whether Kraft and Coach Belichick have been the key to consistency?"Yeah, I think those are definitely some key guys at the head of the list. Mr. Kraft gives us everything we need and everything we ask for as players and I think as coaches to try to be successful out there. Coach Belichick tries to put all the players in situations out there on the field to be successful. And definitely having Tom never hurts. I think it's a combination that has been very successful for us so far."

On what it's like to be around Brady:"He works his tail off. We'll fly home from a game and he is already watching film on the next opponent. And he's constantly ahead of everyone. He knows exactly what he wants, what he wants the receivers to do and making the line calls and doing everything necessary for us to be successful. He's a competitor. He works hard. He's pretty much everything you can ask for in a quarterback."

On whether he'd be the same receiver without Brady:"No. There's no question. There's no way I would. I think in my time in Miami I went through four or five quarterbacks and didn't play as much. Being here, with Tom, in this offense, I am not going to sit here and say I'd have the same numbers. No way."

On whether he takes pride in the fact that they call slot receivers a 'Wes Welker':"That's fine. I think it is kind of a cool thing to see that I've kind of developed somewhat of a brand of a slot receiver and the attributes that people kind of look for from a player who plays that position."

On how the tight ends have expanded the Patriots' offense:"Well, they've obviously done a great job. They're very talented players and Aaron and Gronk have done a great job of really just kind of learning the offense and understanding what we want and really have made a lot of plays for us. We're going to continue to look for them to help us make plays and help us move the ball up the field."